Tokugawa onna keibatsu-shi

Teruo Ishii may never be regarded in the same exalted terms as fellow Japanese cult heroes like Norifumi Suzuki or Koji Wakamatsu (though to be fair much of his work remains pretty rare), but he was certainly no slouch, a solid and stylish contributor to many genres. The Joy of Torture is probably the best I've seen from him so far, the start of his eight strong ero guro series. An anthology film indicting Edo era savagery, while not especially graphic its a classy and even moving work with some memorable scenes.

The first story is the weakest of the three, seeing a woman driven to desperation and aberrant love by her injured brother. Interesting enough but little developed, it's a set up that would have benefited from a full length treatment or at least greater levels of emotional intensity, high melodrama should have been the style but its actually relatively subdued. Still good stuff though and its theme of love binding characters to their doom leads nicely into the next story, a tale of nuns driven wild with lust for a neighboring monk. This one really ups the ante, with escalating hysteria mounting into interesting torture scenes and bloodshed, including a hilarious use of loaches. The best is saved till last though, a dedicated tattoo artist seeks to create his finest work by watching the torture of Christian missionaries. This segment combines interesting obsession with the most protracted torture scenes of the film, lots of beating, wheeling, burning and so forth of a multitude of screaming semi naked ladies to unsettling yet undeniably erotic effect. Plus the close is (relatively speaking) pretty upbeat. So its a decent mix, but at the same time somewhat flawed. Some inconsistencies nag, most notably the aforementioned slightly flat opening story. The film is thematically inconsistent too, flitting from the tragedy of love to the mania of excess to the excess of torture, taking in the harshness of social strictures, cruelty of individuals and passion of torture along the way. Although the stories are united by recurring torturer Nambara and his (relatively) nice guy assistant, there's a slightly scattershot feel to the general critique that detracts from the overall effect. The social justification is a tad cheesy as well, which wouldn't be a bad thing but the film is exploitative enough to seem hypocritical while not exploitative enough to be hilarious in having higher pretensions. There isn't much gore either, but then its still fairly strong for its time. Altogether still a very worthy film, nudity, nastiness, solid plotting and beautiful cinematography, definitely worth a watch for vintage Japanese exploitation fans.

I recently watched the Japanese film 🇯🇵 Shogun's Joy of Torture (1968) on Tubi. The story follows a young woman whose brother is accused of horrific crimes and killed. In an effort to clear his name, she assumes both the blame and the brutal consequences that follow.

Directed by Teruo Ishii (Blind Woman's Curse), the film stars Teruo Yoshida (Goke, Bodysnatcher from Hell), Masumi Tachibana (Yakuza Law), Fumio Watanabe (Lone Wolf and Cub: Sword of Vengeance), and Mie Hanabusa (Horrors of Malformed Men).

As with many of Ishii's works, the film does a strong job immersing you in its world. The acting, period attire, sets, and props all contribute to a sense of gritty realism. The female leads-particularly Mitsu and a blonde who appears later-are strikingly beautiful, and the camera certainly doesn't ignore that. However, the torture scenes, while intense and stylized, are handled with a seriousness that keeps them from feeling purely exploitative.

The plot develops in a fairly grounded way, holding your attention even if it doesn't quite break new ground.

In the end, Shogun's Joy of Torture isn't a standout in the genre, but it offers enough to make it worth a watch for fans of vintage Japanese exploitation cinema. I'd give it a 6/10.

#241 Shogun's Joy of Torture - 1968 (This Film Rates a C+ ) Teruo Ishii's Shogun's Joy of Torture is a provocative and unsettling anthology film that explores the darker aspects of human nature. Set in ancient times, the movie presents three distinct stories, each approximately thirty minutes in length, that delve into themes of violence, exploitation, and the objectification of women through scenes of rape. The first story revolves around Mitsu and her brother Shinzo, who become embroiled in a tragic sequence of events involving rape, incest, blackmail, and ultimately, torture. The narrative is marked by a sense of darkness and despair, as the characters are forced to navigate a cruel and unforgiving world. The second story is equally disturbing, featuring a priest who is forced to endure humiliation and torture at the hands of a vengeful woman. A female receives extreme genital torture. Much of the graphics are only suggestive but are effective enough. Meanwhile the priest is decapitated with a crazy little ending. The scene is notable for its use of suggestive graphics, which add to the overall sense of unease and discomfort. The third and final story centers on a tattoo artist named Horicho, who becomes obsessed with creating the perfect work of art on the body of a young woman. The narrative takes a dark turn as Horicho's obsession leads him to commit atrocities, including drugging and tattooing his victim, Hana, against her will. Throughout the film, the acting is often melodramatic and over-the-top, which can be somewhat distracting at times. However, the seriousness of the subject matter and the intensity of the scenes help to elevate the film above its more absurd moments. Shogun's Joy of Torture is a film that pushes the boundaries of what was considered acceptable in 1968. While not excessively graphic, the movie features a significant amount of blood and violence, as well as suggestive sexual content including rape. The intensity of the scenes is well-maintained throughout, keeping the viewer on edge and invested in the storylines. Ultimately, Shogun's Joy of Torture is a challenging and thought-provoking film that explores the darker side of torture and extreme human nature. While it may not be to every viewer's taste, the movie is a significant entry in the early Japanese exploitation genre and is sure to appeal to fans of cult cinema. With a rating of C+, the film is a worthwhile watch for those interested in exploring the more extreme aspects of 1960s Japanese cinema.

Shogun's Joy of Torture sees a change in direction for director Teruo Ishii, who leaves his previous cinematic worlds of gritty crime drama and cheesy sci-fi for more exploitative territory, where the order of the day is bondage, sadism, sex and tattoos. Yes... tattoos.

The film - which is set during the Edo period - opens with some truly eye-opening violence: a woman is hung from a tree, beheaded, and her body cut in half by a swordsman; another victim is burnt alive; and a lady is torn to pieces by horses. All of this before the opening credits have even finished. The rest of the film comprises of three tales of cruel punishment meted out for different crimes, while a Shogunate assistant weighs up the pros and cons of such extreme discipline.

The first story sees pretty 18-year-old Mitsu (Masumi Tachibana) forced to accept financial help from Minosuke (Kichijirô Ueda), master of the local kimono shop, after a log falls on her brother Shinzô, leaving him in need of expensive medical care. Indebted to Minosuke, Mitsu is forced to comply with his sexual demands, which leaves Shinzô distraught, for he has long harboured incestuous desires for his sister. Unable to bear it any longer, Shinzô declares his love for Mitsu, and is happy to learn that she feels the same way. The siblings begin a sexual relationship, but their taboo trysts are soon rumbled by Minosuke, who rapes Mitsu, knowing that they dare not report him. When Shinzô commits suicide in order to put an end to his shameful life, Mitsu loses her temper and attacks Minosuke, who finally reports the girl to the authorities. In order to get Mitsu to confess, she is stripped, bound, and beaten with bamboo. Mitsu doesn't break, and is given the option of exile instead of death, but the young woman ultimately decides that she would rather be reunited with her dead brother and confesses. Her punishment is to be crucified on an inverted cross in the surf as the tide comes in. Glub, glub, glub! Mitsu's fate is made all the more harrowing after we learn that Minosuke was responsible for Shinzô's injuries in the first place, having arranged for the accident so that he could have his way with Mitsu. Naughty naughty.

The next chapter is called 'The Beheading of an Abbess in the Juko Temple'. Mother Reiho (Yukie Kagawa) takes a fancy to bald priest Syunkai (Shin'ichirô Hayashi), who she discovers is having a secret affair with pretty (but equally as bald) nun Myôshin (Miki Obana). After watching the couple going at it in the woods, Reiho approaches Syunkai and orders him to strip and purify himself under a waterfall. While the young priest is repenting for his sins, Reiho slips out of her habit and joins him and they have sex. Afterwards, Syunkai tells Reiho he only jumped her to save Myôshin, for now she is just as guilty. His ploy doesn't work: Reiho has Myôshin tied up and tortured, using loaches and a red hot chili pepper to bring tears to her eyes (and I'm not talking about Flea wearing nothing but a sock - that would be way too cruel!). Syunkai turns up demanding to see Myôshin, and stupidly agrees to be tied up beforehand, which ultimately leads to the guy having his head hacked off by the now certifiably insane Reiho. The Shogunate officials turn up to find the crazy nun carrying the priest's head. She commits harakiri, but that doesn't stop the authorities crucifying her dead body and piercing it with spears, along with a handful of other, very much alive nuns.

The third story is the murder case of tattoo artist Horicho (Asao Koike), who is committed to producing a masterpiece depicting the agony of torture. When his latest work is mocked by a Shogunate lord for its lack of realism, Horicho finds a new canvas - a woman named Hana (Reiko Mikasa) who he kidnaps for her perfect skin - and sets about creating his finest work of art. Horicho requests if he can attend the torture of prisoners, so he can accurately capture their expressions, as well as using the sadistic lord as his model for a hellish ogre. However, the tattooist's real aim is to give the torturer a taste of his own medicine.

All three stories feature copious scenes of torture and misogyny which undeniably push the boundaries for the time, but never quite live up to the promise of the amazingly gory opening credits executions. However, those who think that this one doesn't go far enough should definitely check out the 1976 unofficial sequel, The Joy of Torture 2: Oxen Split Torturing, which goes all out to shock with its nasty graphic violence.

Three tales of punishment and torture.

As the title would suggest, this is no Disney film. It's a Japanese exploitation film from 1968 and that's pretty much all you need to know in advance. It is about gratuitous nudity, sex and violence. Plot (well, plots - there's three stories) is basic and doesn't always make sense.

On the plus side, production values are pretty good for the time and performances are reasonably solid for something that is clearly no Citizen Kane.